The American clergyman Henry Ward Beecher once described the dog as the “god of frolic”. Who can question the joy dogs bring to so many of us? When we are down, they bring us up. They excite us when we are weary and console us in moments of great despair. My best friend when I was a kid was a dog; my favourite show on TV was Scooby-Doo.
But dogs are not universally benign. Some of them menace and kill. Of course, this is not entirely their fault. Dogs are bred for certain characteristics and behaviour. The affectionate golden retriever. The sweet cocker spaniel. The trustworthy German shepherd.
And the aggressive pit bull. So aggressive, in fact, that they are banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, along with three other breeds: the Japanese tosa, the dogo argentino and the fila brasileiro.
Something odd has been happening recently in the relationship between dogs and humans in the UK. The average number of people killed by a dog each year between 2001 and 2021 was 3.3. Last year, however, 10 people were killed by dogs. Four of them were children. This year, five people have already been killed by dogs.
The average number of people killed by dogs for 20 years was three — last year 10 people died
What has caused this spike is not a mystery but straightforward: six out of the 10 people killed last year were killed by a particular breed called the American bully. And this breed has killed two this year and is suspected of involvement in the other three cases. The American bully is related to the pit bull. It is a mixture of the American Staffordshire terriers and American pitbull terriers.
But there is no clear figure of how many American bully dogs are in Britain because the breed is not recognised yet by any of the UK’s main dog organisations. Its vicious presence is nevertheless felt in the country. In 2019, no American bully dog was seized by the police. At least 44 of them have been taken this year; this is significantly more than other breeds.
One could argue that this is not the fault of any individual American bully. We should instead blame negligent or sinister owners. This is true to an extent. But it is the dog that is biting and maiming, not anyone else. And this line of argument — taking responsibility away from the dog — is of little consolation to the family of the seven-year-old girl in the Wirral who was recently attacked by an American bully dog. Nor is it of much help to the family of Jonathan Hogg, the 37-year-old dog carer and father of five from Greater Manchester, who was killed in May after playing with an American bully dog. He had his throat ripped out.
We have banned pit bulls for over 30 years. And for good reason. Thérèse Coffey — the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — should do the right thing and add the American bully to the list of dogs that are banned under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act. This should be done before more people are attacked and killed.
Dogs can bring about immeasurable delight. But some of them can also be a source of terror. It is incumbent on all of us who love dogs to know the difference.
Our fastest man
Who is the greatest English (or British) footballer of all time? This question is open to subjective opinion. Bobby Moore? Bobby Charlton? Wayne Rooney? There are so many variables at play, and expressing a preference is often a matter of prejudice rather than dispassionate analysis.
But when you ask who the fastest British man of all time is, the question is beyond dispute because you can measure it in a definitive way. All you have to do is record the time. In June, 28-year-old Zharnel Hughes broke Linford Christie’s British record in the 100 metres by running a time of 9.83 seconds.
Born in the British overseas territory of Anguilla in the Caribbean, Hughes, left, is not a household name. He is not as well known as a Premier League footballer who starts for a top side. But he deserves to be far better known than he currently is: to repeat, he is the fastest man in British history. That must be worth something. The World Athletics Championships starts next month in Budapest. Let us wish Hughes well.
